Week 10

Week 10: Discussion of the relevance of multiliteracies and multimodal approaches to support student learning.

Henderson (2007) expressed “It’s a digital life!”, therefore the use of multiple technologies is a part of our everyday life. It is essential that we enrich our classroom with multilitteracies and multimodality to ensure our students are well adjusted and engaged in the content within their classroom. Students today have access to iPods, mobile phones, computers, e-readers, the list goes on and with this increase in technology use and exposure students need to be supported and taught accordingly to support their lives and learning.

The use of technologies such as Wix, Blogger, and SMARTboard within the classroom creates significance and relevance of the content being taught. It enables them to relate and engross themselves in the topic and explore it on a variety of levels. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2006) reported that almost 65 per cent of 5-14 year olds have accessed the internet for leisure activities. Therefore these increasing amounts of technology savvy students need to have their curriculum delivered using a range of digital technologies.

Establishing Connectedness and Significance from the Quality Teaching Framework can be achieved through multimodal approaches for all students. For example activities within the classroom can revolve around digital technologies because it allows students to engage with multiple literacies. Students have this incredible ability to be able to decode symbols, sounds, texts and visuals in a matter of minutes, this semiotic knowledge enables them to be a significant contributor within their classroom and empower them within their learning.

Heath (1983) did considerable research surrounding the importance of identifying student’s literate strengths and capabilities at home and transferring them into the classroom. For example a teacher’s pedagogical approach can be adjusted to help students make connections from home to school literacies. It allows students to build on the literacy knowledge they already possess and extend their learning, therefore creating High Expectations within the classroom.

The sociocultural perspective of literacy as a whole relies heavily on practices that enable students to decode, make meaning, and demonstrate critical understandings of what they encounter. Whether students read from a book or a web address they are still engaging with daily sociocultural practices and building on the foundation of expertise and knowledge for the future.

We know that incorporating multilitteracies and multimodality within our classroom will cater for the needs of diverse learners and enrich content delivery for all students. It enables a new way of increasing productivity and ownership for a student over their learning.

 References

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2006). 4901.0 Children's participation in cultural and leisure activities, Australia. Retrieved October 3^rd 2012, from

http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/

Heath, S. B. (1983). Ways with words: Language, life, and work in communities and classrooms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Henderson, R. (2007, November 21-24). Diverse students "doing" digital literacies. Paper presented at the 2nd International Conference on Language, Education and Diversity, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand.